Stolen Scooters in Austin

Just got an email from Adrien in Austin about stolen scooters. Keep an eye out, Texans!

My name is Adrian. I'm from Austin, Texas. On the day of Sunday December 16th 2007 my 1978 P125X was stolen from my apartment complex parking lot. A number of scooters were stolen on the same day in this area as well as some others around town in the past week.

Keep an eye out for people trying to sell stolen scooters. If you have any information, contact Austin PD.

More Scooter Parking in Sarasota, FL

The Bradenton Herald recently posted an article about the city of Sarasota, Florida adding 21 new motorcycle parking spots to their downtown. Florida is a mecca for scooters due to the warm weather and the lack of a helmet law, so it seems natural that they would incorporate two-wheeled vehicle parking into their plans. The city was smart about it and placed the spots in "dead zones" that are too small for cars to park in.

If you are yearning for more motorcycle parking in your area, check out the article I wrote in our August issue (#41) about how my home town (San Jose) and other US cities have gone about getting more motorcycle parking. You can check out San Jose's updated parking map to see what progress we made.

Scooters and Primates

Saw this photo online and thought that it was proof that primates are smart... they like scooters, or at least they'll feign interest for food.

Pick it Up

Thanks to my favorite scooter spotters, the Rix family, that sent me this link to a spot from the super-cool kids show Yo! Gabba Gabba! This show has been all th rage as of late, and I can see why it is a hit with both kids and parents. Check out this fun ska song that urges kids to "pick it up!"

You Gabba Gabba video. Spot the scooter for extra points...

NYPD Goes Electric

An Associated Press story about NYPD police testing Vectrix scooters is blanketing the Web. Lots of press outlets are picking up the story because it shows that the US's most high-profile city is taking economic and environmentally-friendly transportation seriously. The NYPD has a track record of working with scooters. Some may recall their fleet of Lambrettas in the waaay back. As the article points out, they department has over 400 gas-powered scooters right now. So kudos to them for looking to be environmentally conscious while still incorporating scooters. Read the story in the Boston Globe.

Bajaj Longs for Scooter Successes

In a recent article in the Hindustan Times it is said that Indian motorcycle manufacturer, Bajaj, is considering producing scooters once again. The company had decided to put their efforts into motorcycles, but found that the still strong 100cc market was falling to Honda and others. They are losing market share, and may yearn for their scooter business which earned them an 80% market share. Does this mean that the Chetak or Legend will return? Who knows as Bajaj is keeping it secret.

Iraqis Tackle City Traffic with Scooters

I'm on my way out to a Christmas dinner, but here is a NY Times story on how Iraqis are turning to scooters to address traffic and finance concerns. I love the skepticism about the Chinese bikes. Proof that we're very much alike.
happy holidays, folks!
New York Times article here...

Scooter Goodies

It's hard to keep a good scooter collectible away from me. But, this year, my boyfriend did. He presented me with this glass Santa on a scooter that he picked up at Walmart. It's cute, especially Santa's rosy cheeks.
If you read my column you may recall my post from November 10th where I said that a friend said he got an ornament from Walmart. We rushed over there & found nothing. Then, it was reported that the ornament was actually at hallmark. Chalk it up to an honest mistake...Well, my boyfriend kept going back & when he found this one at Walmart, he knew he had me. Since I had already scoured he place, I wouldn't be going back. His present was safe. So, no you know. Head over there for their after-Christmas sale and snap up the rest of them.





While I was out doing some last-minute shopping, yesterday, we stopped at Mai Do, a Japanese stationery store and Jon spotted this set of jelly stickers. I should really rent him out, he's like a scooter collectible bloodhound! There are only 3 scooters in the whole collection, but you may be able to use the other stickers elsewhere, especially the cute rocketship, minis or doulble-decker buses. The set was $3.30.

Here's a detail of one of the scooters:

Paint Your Own Ceramic Scooter

Scoot! reader, Bret Urick sent me this ceramic scooter that he painted. His sister has a paint-your-own pottery shop and he found this there. He said she got it from a supplier's catalog, which was under the "Bambino Collection." If you have access to one of those pottery places, maybe they can order one for you. It would make a fun scooter club activity to have each member paint one. Also cool for those 'lil scooterists in training that you know.

One thing you may notice: the engine on the wrong side. It's amazing how often I see this in the world. People really want that engine on the other side!

Scooter Shirt for Babies

Found this cute scooter shirt online at Polka Dots. It's on sale for $19.95 and only comes in 12 months, so get it before it's gone.

Scoot! Holiday Lights Ride

The local San Jose scooter crew has been holding a holiday lights ride for years. I used to host it at my house. Scooterists would meet there and I'd treat them to snacks and hot cocoa. Then, we'd get on our scooters and brave the cold to ride around and checkout the holiday lights. Once I moved out of that neighborhood, the scooterists across the street took it over, then a local shop, until this year when Scoot! sponsored it with San Jose Vespa.

We met at San Jose Vespa for some snacks and scooter talk. We held a raffle with proceeds o benefit ScooterRelief.org. Then we jumped on our scooters and Josh guided us through the surrounding neighborhood. We ended up at a local Starbucks where Scoot! bought the hot drinks. Norbert, Eddie and I decorated our scooters with battery-operated lights. I used the Braketext to broadcast "Happy Holidays from Scoot! Magazine." A man in a car stopped me to ask where I got the Braketext, and wondered if they made it or cars. Dunnno. At any rate, you can see the video that I posted on YouTube. Thankfully iMovie is easy to use.


Interested in a fun event to do in the winter? Try a holiday lights ride in your area!

Scoot Richmond Gives 110%

Scoot Richmond is doing a Christmas promotion where customers who purchase gift cards will receive a card for 110% of payment. Thus, you can pay $100 an receive a $110 card. The sale goes through Friday, Dec. 21. Find out more about the Last Minute Gift Card.

While you and your gift recipient may not live in the Richmond, VA area the Scoot Richmond team does brisk mail order business.

Rachael Ray Scooter for Charity

Piaggio is partnering with Rachael Ray to raise money for her "Yum-O" charity. The scooter appeared on the December 11th Rachael Ray show and will be on auction until January 11.

According to the charity's website, "Yum-o! is a nonprofit organization that empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking by teaching families to cook, feeding hungry kids and funding cooking education and scholarships."

You can bid on the scooter at the Charity Folks' site.

Cute flash homepage

I've been researching parenting & children's sites/blogs for something totally unrelated to 1) my personal life and 2) scooters, but I found this website: Enfant Terrible that has a great flash home page that has a goofy guy riding a scooter. I think I've seen him at several rallies! ha-ha! Check it out!

When you click on a link, the scooter guy appears at the top of the page. So cute! The clothes are simple (and pricey) but the flash is fun.

Scooter Christmas Cards

Whenever I'm in the local mall, I stop by Papyrus, a chain stationery store just to see if they have any scooter-themed cards. This past weekend, I found 2 great cards. The first is of a silhouette of a girl on a fenderlight Vespa with packages on the rear rack. It is cute and retro-flavored. The drawback is that it says, "For You, Sister" on the front and "Special wished of holiday joy to my terrific sis." Those of you who have read my blog before probably remember my previous rants about greeting cards where the card company comes up with greeting for us. I'd rather just have a cool graphic and write the greeting myself. This card could go to many people if it were blank, but since I don't have a sister, this will sit in my collectibles box. $2.95



The second card is, fortunately, blank. It has a colorized and glittered scooter on the front and nothing inside. Perfect for you to write your own, heartfelt and personal greeting, like "Merry Christmas, Steve." Just Kidding! The scooter looks as if it were sculpted or maybe made of tin, like a small toy. This is part of Papyrus' fancy-smancy line, so the card is a whopping $4.95. So, maybe that's what makes it hard to decide where to send it. It's not affordable to send a whole stack of them out. Forget the presents!


Papyrus has reently launched their online store,but it doesn't have these cards. Use the site to find the nearest location and grab them while you can.

Rocketworld Toys and Desktop

If you saw our scooter art issue from last year (issue #40), you may recall a submission from Patrick York Ma that was of a bear riding a scooter. Since then, Patrick has transformed his artwork into limited edition vinyl toys. The toys are called the Combat Mod Squad Titus (Bear) and Combat Mod Squad
Affonso (Rhino) and are limited to 500 pieces per character. According to Patrick, the toys are “part homage to my love of vintage Vespas, part wildlife conservation, and part pop-culture.” A portion of all the toys sales from Rocket World goes to helping non-profit wildlife conservation groups. The toys sell for $64.99, but you’d better get them before they are gone. See more of Patrick’s designs at www.rocketworld.org where you can also download the free desktop art (shown below)Download the desktop at Rocketworld.org